Anti-Ink-Traps

I'm looking for examples of what I'm inelegantly calling "anti-ink-traps" — design features that would function the way an ink trap would, but for type that's meant to be reversed out of a dark background (or displayed using light rather than ink, perhaps).

In other words, where an ink trap cuts into a potentially problematic join, an anti-ink-trap would have a little extra there, in the form of a curve or bevel.

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I know Matthew Carter and Adrian Frutiger had drawn Univers for Phototypesettingand since the process would blur any sharp corner they had to add "spikes" to corners which would compensate for the blurring. I don't have an images of this exact example but here is an example of the same idea from Unica—found on google:

I use them mostly on diagonal joins as in "V, W, N" on acute angles. The difficulty is that we need to accommodate different substrates as well as digital output. The most severe examples were used on absorbent paper at small sizes like the old phone books. Look at Matthew Carters Bell Centennial face for good examples.

Phototype required very clean optics and fresh chemicals in processing to maximize sharpness of output. Digital has different issues with rounding errors at certain sizes when hinting is not quite right.

We even added them on some display faces too, because display machines didn't usually have the highest quality optical systems. Numerous examples can be found in old specimen books. I think we referred to them as spurs.

ClearviewHwy has Positive and Negative Contrast versions as well. Millbank has its terminology backwards, at least as it relates to signage and Human Factors Research. Light Letters on Dark backgrounds are referred to Positive Contrast, Dark letters on light backgrounds are referred to as Negative Contrast. It took me awhile for that to sink in when I was first exposed to it.

I produced Brown (left) and Worldwide (centre) initially for newsprint, optically scaled.The minting sharpens up body type, and provides visual interest at display size.The third style is Beaufort, a glyphic effect which doesn’t require optical scaling, as the sharp serifs are close to asymptotic.

For some reason, rounding obtuse angled inside corners seemed more appropriate than negative thorns, perhaps because they don’t “decay” during process, and it expands the joint in a manner that balances the outside minting, which looks good when the font is closely inspected, rather than the typeset image.

Austin, it sounds like you're expecting light traps to be in the same position as ink traps, but that wouldn't be the case. In most cases you'd want the acute crotch of a V to be exaggerated for clarity, whether it's light on dark or dark on light. Of course there are letters with more rounded interior corners. For example, letters by lazy wood-type creators who convince themselves that the artifacts of a router are an aesthetic decision rather than something that requires additional handwork to fix! But those aren't optical correctives like ink traps are.

Austin, it sounds like you're expecting light traps to be in the same position as ink traps, but that wouldn't be the case. In most cases you'd want the acute crotch of a V to be exaggerated for clarity, whether it's light on dark or dark on light.

I guess I was just thinking that if it's specifically meant to be reversed out in white on dark ink (rather than a fabricated or backlit sign, etc), then you might prefer to have an intentionally blunt interior corner than a sharp one that spreads out into a blob.

I don't have any examples but on a cancelled Playstation 2 project, I wanted to to get some small text on the screen, black on white. It's no problem on a monitor but with consumer level televisions screens and composite signals, the white phosphors can wipe out the thin stems. A tiny O might look like a C. I compensated by darkening the counters a little bit and adding a little dark fuzz on areas where you'd normally have an ink trap. Like, the crotch of the V would have a little more dark pixel fuzz.

It's also interesting to note that a technique analogous to ink traps, called Optical Proximity Correction, has long been used in integrated circuit fabrication to compensate for the fact that features on chips were no longer many times larger than the wavelength of the light used to print them. (Now, they're smaller, and so additional techniques, such as multiple patterning, are also required.)

In the early 1960s Francesco Simoncini developed and eventually patented a method of applying “anti-ink traps” to his foundry’s drawings. He called the procedurea process of “reverse deformation.” I just wrote an article on our exhibition and catalogue on Simoncini, in which we discuss the patent in more detail: Behind Simoncini’s Glasses.

Yes, Delia—originally called Pubblicità—was used between 1969 and 1979 on the Italian phone books and yellow pages. It was succeeded by Galfra, by Ladislas Mandel, which was succeeded by Nomina by Piero De Macchi. In the catalogue and exhibit we also talk about Delia, Galfra and Selene (formerly Armstrong.)

Expand on Connor comment, according to Adrian Frutiger - Typefaces The Complete Works by Heidrun Osterer. Points stuck-on were known as ‘daggers’ to ‘prevent corners of their photosetting fonts being rounded off during exposure.’

A teacher says, "In many early soccer matches, balls weren't even used." Student comments, "Ah. Balls." Detention. Malcolm and Stephen used the word in context. The purpose of your post was to draw attention to a funny word.

I was* the smart-ass kid who would have said, "Ah. Balls." and got plenty of detentions for it but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

@Ray Larabie Being a class clown is not remotely my thing. The thread is about naming that letterform feature, and I repeated the term from Stephen's text with that purpose. I was of course having fun with its carnal nature, but would have brought to attention any new term for that feature, because I value discovering and spreading terms. As I value exposing reactionary, vindictive behavior.